Lets Talk Cars! (Car guys)

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Those TDI's are very under rated. My only experience with them is with the Golfs and Bugs but they have a ton of torque and get ridiculously amazing mpg.

The Golfs and Bugs ive been (in as a passenger) have shocked alot of people in nicer much more expensive and higher horse power cars too. A few years back when VW was recalling them for emissions issues they would sell them back to the dealers for about $4-6k with barely any mileage. I called every day of the week for about a month but sadly they were always sold out before i called.... Still would love to have a TDI Golf one day with the seats switched out for the GTI Golfs plaid seats.

Dont watch the dirty money doc on Netflix 😂 

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Dont watch the dirty money doc on Netflix 😂 

Man i spend so much money on bass fishing gear, panfish/trout gear, kayak stuff, clothes, Tacobell, and car parts i cant afford this Netflix you speak of!

3 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

This one (stock picture below but that’s basically exactly what we had) was an AMG 43 with a twin turbo AMG tuned 3.0 L that pushed 360 hp and 0-60 in 4.9s and sounded beautiful doing it. On top, it was sooo easy to drive and we took it from the UK through the alps, to Italy and back. Going through the tunnels it just purred. 
 

But the SLK was my baby. I had it ECU tuned and it was putting out around 240 hp.  I had an aftermarket control chip and could drop the roof from my key fob as well as a few other neat features. I put in a skinny under seat subwoofer. If the weather was 25-85 degrees I had the top down because it had an air scarf system built into the seat headrest that blew warm air. Everything was clean and tidy. And of course it was AMG Mercedes level fit and build. By far the most fun car ever for the place I was in. I’ve looked at getting one here but mercs are much higher priced relatively speaking and I can get a new corvette for the price. 

Traveling through Europe in some amazing cars must have been quite a great experience.

Ive always liked the look of those Mercedes cars, know very little about them tho.

There is one though that i would absolutely love to have the A 45 AMG, makes 421hp AWD, looks amazing and sounds great, sadly not available in the US....

And for your last sentence, im my experience when it comes to imports try the used market, sometimes you can get your dream car for less than youd expect.

3 hours ago, Catt said:

@MediumMouthBass I would like to see that engine in a small truck!

My Baja is a mini Subaru truck, ive told my dad as a joke several times that when the engine blows again im going for either a LS swap or TDI. It would probably cause alot of headaches and cost a fortune but it'd sure be fun.

The thing about those TDI's tho is that youd never expect the cars that have that engine to actually have that kind of power and torque, they are truly the definition of a "sleeper build" and thats stock.

Imagine if they were modified!

 

@Cattif you have a chance later go on google and search for Jetta TDI ute (in Australia they chop the backs off cars and turn them into small trucks) And theres people in the US that do custom work to make them too.

[TnRiver46]

@MediumMouthBass, the “clean diesel” TDI was a defeat device created by the Germans claiming the emissions were clean but they weren’t. They rigged it to where it tested clean in a lab on rollers but as soon as you turn the steering wheel it let the black exhaust out of the tailpipe . 
 

probably why they go for cheap 

[MediumMouthBass]

5 hours ago, Mike L said:

When the ‘05’s came out I thought it would have been cool to have another Goat on the 40th anniversary of my original. 
 

When I found out it was a rebadged Holden Monaro with a few performance add on’s from GM’s division in Australia I passed. 
 

Just didn’t seem right 

😀

 

 

Mike 

It is actually amazing to know that im not the only American that knows about Holden, whenever i talk to any GM people they never have a clue what im talking about, and i have to tell them that GM owns even more brands then they thought.

 

Dont know how the Holdens made back then were but the newer ones were really cool looking, they have over in Australia the Commodore and over here their rebadged equivalent was the Chevy SS made from 2014-2017, (not the Camaro SS, the name they chose is confusing) it was practically an Impala with a 6.2 V8 making 415hp, and i believe they used the prior gen Corvette engine in them.

 

The only reason i even know anything about Holden is from video games and also my Subaru Baja yet again. In Australia they have Utes, (for those who dont know they like taking cars and cutting them up and making trucks out of them). Because of my mini truck i have, once i found out Holden made the Commodore V8 Ute i was amazed! Did a bunch of research into them years ago too.

Sadly GM has shut Holden down and they are no longer. R.I.P.

 

So when Dodge was talking about bringing back the Rampage i was so happy, (it wouldve been my favorite vehicle, a Challenger but as a 2 door mini truck). I was saving up money and ready to buy one and then covid happened and they decided to scrap the plans for it....

And now Dodge (well FCA) decided to break the trust of all their long time loyal customers and stop making the TRX, all Challenger and Charger variants including the extremely famous Hellcats....

They are coming out with a inline 6 Charger but so far thats just been a disappointment to anyone in the car community.

[Deephaven]

Will fill in more later, but drive an Audi S6 with the twin turbo V8.  Other car I cross shopped it with was an SS Sedan, but mine would have gotten a full Golden badge kit, a Whipple, long tubes,  intake and perhaps more.  I just couldn't quite get over the interior and at the time had a supercharged Escalade that I kept hanging to do trannies on so i figured something closer to stock would be a good idea....of course I am now contemplating bigger turbos and a tune for thd Audi.  I love cars.

[Mike L]

6 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

It is actually amazing to know that im not the only American that knows about Holden, whenever i talk to any GM people they never have a clue what im talking about, and i have to tell them that GM owns even more brands then they thought.

 

Muscle cars have been my first passion since the mid 60’s. You never forget. 
Always had to be around them. 
 

It got so bad that when I started judging at brand specific shows, eventually I graduated to judge at National Concourse events. 
At that level you try to learn all that’s learnable 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike
 

[Catt]

Most younger enthusiasts don't realize "Muscle" cars started out as faimly cars. 

 

@TnRiver46 not even close

 

@MediumMouthBass My sister-sister's nephew restores cars & trucks for a living. He's done projects for Chip Foose.

[Mike L]

29 minutes ago, Catt said:

Most younger enthusiasts don't realize "Muscle" cars started out as faimly cars. 

 

@TnRiver46 not even close

 

@MediumMouthBass My sister-sister's nephew restores cars & trucks for a living. He's done projects for Chip Foose.

And probably most don’t know that the  ‘64 GTO (the one that started it all) and the ‘65 was an option package on the Lemans. In ‘64 it was $296.00. 
 

It didn’t become its own model till ‘66

 

 

 

 

Mike

[DogBone_384]

My cars:

• 1970 Pontiac LeMans, 350/2.  $200 POS my Father told me not to buy.  He was right.
• 1972 Cutlass S, 350/2.  Bought it from my 5th grade teacher who moved up to the HS.
• 1972 Monte Carlo, 350/2.  Big and beautiful.  
• 1972 Buick Skylark convertible, 350/2.  Sold the Monte Carlo to a friend for this.
• 1991 Nissan Sentra S-ER.  2.0L, 5-speed, sunroof.  Still the most fun car I've ever owned.  Autcrossed it, traveled everywhere in it and traded it in with 165K on it with the original clutch.
• 1999 Toyota Tacoma.  Toyota bought it back for $13K with 160+K miles.  It had a bad frame.
• 2006 Tundra.  Traded it because I saw an Inferno Orange Tundra on the dealer's lot one day.  This one also had $160+K on it.  
• 2017 Tundra.  This is the inferno orange one.  Keeping it until further notice.
• 1968 Buick GS400 convertible. 400/3-speed manual. 1 of 79. 82K miles.  It's been restored and I'm continuing the journey.  My daughter loves driving it.

My bikes:

• 1988 Suzuki Katana 600.  Wrecked it in an accident.
• 1995 Suzuki RF900R.  Traded it for my BMW after 20 years of fun and reliability.
• 1997 Suzuki TL1000S.  Traded this one too for the BMW, 2:1 deal.  I wish I still had this one.
• 2007 BMW K1200S.  Think of this one as a Milennium Falcon with factory bags and typical BMW fit/finish.  Parts and service are brutally expensive.  I discovered BMW really means BRING MY WALLET.

[Bird]

Growing up in a small town in the 70's we all had muscle cars with headers, Holly carburators, high rise intakes, jacked up with Crager's. 

We raced every Friday and Saturday night...... and we were always broke. Lol

 

My first was 1970 Nova SS with a 350 that really ran and seldom lost to another small block, vs big blocks was another story.

My last performance car and the worst vehicle I've ever owned was an Eagle Talon.

It had an interference engine which relies on the timing belt so if the timing belt goes so does the engine, that's what happened.

Then I got into off-road and built up Jeep TJ's just to tear them up, another money pit.

Still have the Jeep but seldom drive it.

 

 

 

[Mobasser]

I've had a few, and have always been partial to GM small block V8s. 64 Chevy 1/2 ton truck, 283 V8 all stock. 62 Chevy Bel Air, rebuilt 327, Holly carb, Edelbrock manifold, glass pack mufflers. On the topic of Volkswagen, my dad had a 57 Beetle when I was young. It had German writing on the dashboard and controls. You can always spot the old Volkswagon by the small oval rear window in the back.                                          I think my all time favourites are the 60s muscle cars. I like them all.            

[gim]

When I was in Lima, Peru for work in 2016, I saw this parked outside of a high end restaurant.  Its a McLaren F1.  They aren't street legal in the United States.  It currently holds the world record for the world's fastest production car at 240.1 mph, which was achieved way back in 1993.  Only 106 of them were made between the years of 1992 and 1998.  The big foot sighting of cars.

 

 

[DaubsNU1]

My Dad and Brother standing in front of Dad's 1962 Chevy Impala, "Old Blue." It is his pride an joy!

 

Factory ordered, he took delivery on his 21st birthday. It's a 327 with three-on-the tree, posi-trac rear differential. The car had no power steering, no power brakes / drum brakes all around. He ordered it that way to be faster.

 

The car has 85k miles...engine was re-built around 70k...we didn't think anything of it at the time (1970's). As Dad has grown older, he tells more stories...and reveals more...and apparently Old Blue was quite the car back in the day...Dad would sneak on to the interstate (being built in the 60's) and drag race(!) They had 1/4 mile all marked out.

 

I have driven this car exactly 8 times in my life. It's a family tradition to use Old Blue to drive newly weds from church to reception...I got to drive my brother and his wife 30 years ago...and two weeks ago got to drive nephew and his bride.

 

[WRB]

The rarest car I owned was a ‘70 Camero RS Z28 w Z1 corvette fuel injected 370 hp engine, factory SST headers and flared aluminum fenders. They made 70 of these and wish I still had it!

Met my current wife when I owned this car. It was the classic blues w/black, nag wheels, 4 speed Muncie, etc.

Tom

[BASS302]

@gimruis, I don't think that is a McLaren F1.  The McLaren F1 had an air intake on the top of the car.

[Catt]

21 hours ago, gimruis said:

It currently holds the world record for the world's fastest production car at 240.1 mph

 

Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut 330 mph in 2023. The F1 isn't even in the top 10 anymore. Fine car 😉

[DogBone_384]

22 hours ago, Bird said:

I got into off-road and built up Jeep TJ's just to tear them up

My daughter’s 1st love was not a boy, but a TJ. She wore hers out & decided to replace it with a JK. She hates the JK.

 

Look me up if you ever want to sell the TJ.

[Choporoz]

On 6/19/2024 at 2:53 PM, TnRiver46 said:

I’ve only owned stick shift pickup trucks where you roll the windows down with a knob 😂 

 

hopefully they aren’t phased out before my next purchase, don’t want a backseat either 

Thus almost keeps me up at night.  We have 3 vehicles right now, 2007 Durango, 2012 F150, and 2015 Toyota RAV 4.  Even the 2012 and 2015 have far more tech than I want.  I won't seriously consider a new vehicle unless someone starts making them with knobs and mechanical buttons, and no screens.  So much stuff to break, and add nothing of value to me. Even stuff as innocuous as tire sensors, abs sensors and emissions sensors have driven me nuts.  I rented a car a few months ago and got so pizzed when it pulled me into the lane when I was steering around a pothole.  When did we decide that people don't have to learn to safely operate a vehicle by themselves?

[TnRiver46]

11 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

Thus almost keeps me up at night.  We have 3 vehicles right now, 2007 Durango, 2012 F150, and 2015 Toyota RAV 4.  Even the 2012 and 2015 have far more tech than I want.  I won't seriously consider a new vehicle unless someone starts making them with knobs and mechanical buttons, and no screens.  So much stuff to break, and add nothing of value to me. Even stuff as innocuous as tire sensors, abs sensors and emissions sensors have driven me nuts.  I rented a car a few months ago and got so pizzed when it pulled me into the lane when I was steering around a pothole.  When did we decide that people don't have to learn to safely operate a vehicle by themselves?

My wife has a light on her dash, 2008 Honda fit. It says TPMS for tire pressure monitoring system. I called my fishing buddy who is a master Honda tech, he said those things are like $75-$100 per wheel . I got her a $2 tire pressure gauge that can even clip to your shirt or pants pocket 😂 

 

The dash light can just stay on 

[gim]

9 hours ago, BASS302 said:

@gimruis, I don't think that is a McLaren F1.  The McLaren F1 had an air intake on the top of the car.

 

I could be wrong on the model of McLaren.  I asked the owner if I could lean against it and take a photo and he said "absolutely not."  Can't blame him for that, I'd be anal about it if I owned one too.

[TOXIC]

Oh sooo many.  A few I wish I still had.

42 Ford I pulled out of a field and rehabbed.

57 Chevy 

62 Nash

64 Ford Galaxie 390 police interceptor

70 Pontiac Catalina 400 4 barrel

68 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum

72 Pontiac Grand Prix

73 Pontiac Formula Firebird 350 balanced and blueprinted 

76 Mercury Cougar

75 Ford LTD Brougham

75 Porsche 924

73  American Motors Jeep Wrangler v8

93 Jeep Wrangler 4.0 currently has 475,000 miles

a few Hondas and Nissans in the mix and my trucks.  The 2 I want back are the Firebird and the Charger.  The Firebird got me a ticket for 140mph and I sold it before my court date.  My Charger ate transmissions like M&Ms. I wasn’t well enough versed in transmissions to fix whatever it was that caused it. 

[casts_by_fly]

On 6/19/2024 at 10:34 PM, Catt said:

@MediumMouthBass I would like to see that engine in a small truck!

 

Living in the UK, a 2.0L engine was a 'big' one.  And a big truck was a ford ranger, the size that Ford is now selling in the US.  There were a couple other brands, but the ranger was popular among my shooting friends.  I forget which engines they were offering at the time, but it was a range of 2-3L turbo diesels.  Roughly 30-35 mpg on the highway.  Great off road.  I seriously considered one when we moved south so that I only needed one vehicle.  Instead I kept the jeep and got the SLK.  I think I made the right choice.

 

On 6/19/2024 at 10:49 PM, MediumMouthBass said:

Traveling through Europe in some amazing cars must have been quite a great experience.

Ive always liked the look of those Mercedes cars, know very little about them tho.

There is one though that i would absolutely love to have the A 45 AMG, makes 421hp AWD, looks amazing and sounds great, sadly not available in the US....

And for your last sentence, im my experience when it comes to imports try the used market, sometimes you can get your dream car for less than youd expect.

 

we lived about an hour from the channel tunnel and would drive to Brugge a couple times a year (2x one-hour drives with a 1-hour train ride between).  And when we lived up north we drove up to Scotland a couple times also (all the way to inverness). 

 

The SLKs are great little cars.  Small.  Don't fool yourself into thinking they are bigger than they are.  They are two seaters with good seating space for anyone under 6'2" and 225lb or so, but if you're bigger than that you're going to struggle.  Obviously there is no back seat.  But on top of that there is also basically no space between the seat and the rear bulkhead.  Its enough to put an umbrella or I could slide a laptop bag in there.  That's about it.  Its also a hard top convertible so when the top is down it takes up most of the trunk.  You could fit a couple bags of groceries under it or two carry on sized suitcases laid flat (but not upright).  That said, once you get the hang of it you can pack for a weekend away for two people.  And as a commuter car it was brilliant.

 

Mine was the 2012 SLK 200 which was a turbo charged 1.8L making 185 hp (I think) from the factory.  However, that's the same engine and turbo that they used in the C class there to make 220 from the factory and it could be tuned all the way up to 245.  Mine was around that 240 mark.  In a small and wide car it was quite zippy.  Up to 2015 or so they offered a 3.5L and then the AMG beast- 5.5L, 415 HP, 398 ft-lb of torque in a tiny two seater.  I haven't driven one, but would love to.  In 2016 the renamed it the SLC and moved the big engine to the 43 variant.  I drove one of them and its impressively fast.  That's also the engine we had in the GLC and its a great engine.  Alas, the SLC are discontinued also.

 

I had an A class when we first moved to the UK.  Mine was a 2004/5 and only had the 1.8L engine so it wasn't much for speed but it was like a mini van inside.  The floor was flat and I could take out the back seats which I would do at times.  Utility wise it was great.  The first gen A45 was considered a monster.  355hp from a 2.0L was crazy.  They got there by jacking up the turbo pressure and using high performance cams.  It was the first AMG in a compact and for that engine block they kinda overdid it.  There were issues.  In the new one they've gone to basically a diesel engine block to support how hard they are pushing it.  That said, I wouldn't spend that much money on a hot hatchback like that.  There are too many other good cars out there to have a tiny hatchback.

 

 

49 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

I could be wrong on the model of McLaren.  I asked the owner if I could lean against it and take a photo and he said "absolutely not."  Can't blame him for that, I'd be anal about it if I owned one too.

 

When we lived down south in the UK we were about 5 miles from the McLaren world headquarters.  I would see at least one every day that I drove to or from work.  For as expensive as they are it was amazing how many were around that area.

[MediumMouthBass]

7 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Thus almost keeps me up at night.  We have 3 vehicles right now, 2007 Durango, 2012 F150, and 2015 Toyota RAV 4.  Even the 2012 and 2015 have far more tech than I want.  I won't seriously consider a new vehicle unless someone starts making them with knobs and mechanical buttons, and no screens.  So much stuff to break, and add nothing of value to me. Even stuff as innocuous as tire sensors, abs sensors and emissions sensors have driven me nuts.  I rented a car a few months ago and got so pizzed when it pulled me into the lane when I was steering around a pothole.  When did we decide that people don't have to learn to safely operate a vehicle by themselves?

 My parents have been buying and fixing up salvage title vehicles and fixing them for decades, its something ive been around and looking into for awhile, some people could never do it. It is a risk but if you know what to look for, have connections to people in parts, and get them cheap enough its great.

In all my years going up to salvage lots and doing research and pricing on cars these new cars with all these sensors and additional air bags cost an absolute fortune to fix, to the point where you start pricing parts its honestly absolutely insane.

And the tech they have isnt even needed, its just another thing they can use to bump the price up.

Any car ive ever been in with all that tech i no longer wanted to be in that car, if im going to drive a car i want to be the one driving the car, in 100% control.

Plus they look ugly on the inside too.

 

And if by some chance someone bought one of these newer cars and had some damage to it, and the insurance company said it wasnt totaled but needed work, good luck with that copay for those sensors!

8 hours ago, Choporoz said:

When did we decide that people don't have to learn to safely operate a vehicle by themselves?

And welcome to America! The land where almost no one knows how to drive anymore!

Seriously, in Europe learning to drive means learning to drive a manual in a rusted out car from the 80's 90's or 2000'

Most Americans cant drive a manual, most cant drive without a backup camera.

Instead of trying to teach people how to be better drivers, and safer drivers too, they just give them all this useless tech to bypass their skill level....

Like i said, ive looked at alot of salvage cars, the people in America driving on the roads today are scary.

[MediumMouthBass]

4 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

The first gen A45 was considered a monster.  355hp from a 2.0L was crazy.  They got there by jacking up the turbo pressure and using high performance cams.  It was the first AMG in a compact and for that engine block they kinda overdid it.  There were issues.  In the new one they've gone to basically a diesel engine block to support how hard they are pushing it.  That said, I wouldn't spend that much money on a hot hatchback like that.  There are too many other good cars out there to have a tiny hatchback.

 

Yeah youve got a point, id probably rather dedicate funds for a hatchback towards the Ford Focus RS in Nitrous Blue. But if i ever find myself in Europe id sure try to rent one just for nostalgia!

[TOXIC]

Oh….I almost forgot, my current toy.  The most under rated sports car….a 2002 Lexus SC430, hardtop convertible, 4.3 V8.  It is the first year of production and the factories weren’t established here, so it was hand built in Japan.  The ones that stayed there are called a Soarer.  I bought it because I thought it would be a fun car when I lived in Florida and then I found out it was too freaking hot to drive a convertible in Florida. 😂. It’s been parked in my garage for the last 4 years here in Virginia.